HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL

Celtics fall to Spartans in state semis, 5-1

Trinity Catholic's Josh Gourley wipes away the tears as teammate Tim Sada puts his arm around him after Trinity lost 5-1 to Miami Monsignor Pace in the Class 4A state semifinals game at JetBlue Park in Ft. Myers, FL, Monday night May 20, 2013.

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David Palenzuela's bases-clearing double off Celtic reliever Sam Atwell busted open a dramatic game and turned a 1-1 nail-biter into a 5-1 Monsignor Pace win, ending Trinity Catholic's playoff run in the Class 4A state semifinals at JetBlue Park on Monday.

"You've got to give their kids credit," Trinity coach Tommy Bond said about a game that was much closer than the score indicates. "When we got runners to third base, they did a great job pitching and working their way out of it. We had plenty of opportunities to break it open early and didn't execute. That's baseball. They executed and got their guy up, the right guy at the right time, and he got us."

The Celtics (20-10) got 5.2 sparkling innings out of Lepore, their junior ace pitcher, but couldn't capitalize on their offensive opportunities.

The Celtics had six baserunners over the first two innings but managed just one run.

Pace used a pair of double plays to bail itself out — the first a standard 4-6-3 grounder from Dash Winningham that ended the first, and the second a more dramatic 9-3-2 twin-killing in which Tim Pigeon was tagged out at home trying to score on a Tim Retamoza fly ball.

It was actually the second bang-bang play at home in two at-bats. The first led to Trinity's only run of the game. The play, a bases-loaded grounder to third by Tim Sada, resulted in a violent collision at the plate. Josh Gourley was upended by Pace catcher Anthony De La Cruz, but the ball sprung free and Gourley came back to tag home before De La Cruz could collect it.

Though Gourley crossed the plate, Trinity stranded 10 total runners for the game, sending Spartans starter Jonathan Hernandez into perilous waters over and over again but failing to get the big hit each time.

Lepore faced no such troubles in the early going. The junior righty simply overpowered Pace, setting down the first six batters in order and striking out six through four innings.

"He is something special and is going to be something even more special as he moves on," Bond said. "I'm glad we've got him coming back next year."

Pace finally reached Lepore in the third with two singles and a walk to load the bases for Austin Miro, who drew an RBI walk to tie the game at 1-1.

Pace (23-6) loaded the bases again in the fifth on a hit and two walks, but Lepore escaped unscathed, drawing a popout from No. 6 hitter Andrew McCoy.

When the Spartans finally broke through against Lepore, it was with unearned runs. With a runner on first base, Lepore picked up a Leroy Garcia bunt and, with a clear shot at the lead runner, fired the ball into center field.

With Lepore nearing 100 pitches, Bond summoned Atwell into the game after another sacrifice put both Spartan runners into scoring position. With two outs and the bases full, Palenzuela belted a three-run double to the wall in left center to open the floodgates in a game that looked like it might go deep into the night.

Reliever Luis Deville got the win for Pace after facing just one batter. He struck out Retamoza with two on and two out in the sixth, then the Spartans delivered the knockout punch in bottom of the frame.

Deville then set the Celtics down in order in the seventh.

Alex Merritt and Josh Gourley each had a pair of singles to pace Trinity, which fell to 0-3 all-time in state semifinal appearances.

Lepore allowed just one earned run and struck out eight in 5.2 innings.

'The thing that stings the most is just knowing what could've been," Lepore said. "What if you change one little thing? It's a different ball game. It's going to sting for a little while, but it'll get better. I've got one more year."

Monsignor Pace will face No. 1-ranked Pensacola Catholic for the Class 4A state title tonight at 7:30.

<p>FORT MYERS -- For five-and-a-half innings, Jesse Lepore and Trinity Catholic gave state power Monsignor Pace all it could handle and more.</p><p>Then the Spartans broke it open in the sixth.</p><p>David Palenzuela's bases-clearing double off Celtic reliever Sam Atwell busted open a dramatic game and turned a 1-1 nail-biter into a 5-1 Monsignor Pace win, ending Trinity Catholic's playoff run in the Class 4A state semifinals at JetBlue Park on Monday.</p><p>"You've got to give their kids credit," Trinity coach Tommy Bond said about a game that was much closer than the score indicates. "When we got runners to third base, they did a great job pitching and working their way out of it. We had plenty of opportunities to break it open early and didn't execute. That's baseball. They executed and got their guy up, the right guy at the right time, and he got us."</p><p>The Celtics (20-10) got 5.2 sparkling innings out of Lepore, their junior ace pitcher, but couldn't capitalize on their offensive opportunities.</p><p>The Celtics had six baserunners over the first two innings but managed just one run.</p><p>Pace used a pair of double plays to bail itself out — the first a standard 4-6-3 grounder from Dash Winningham that ended the first, and the second a more dramatic 9-3-2 twin-killing in which Tim Pigeon was tagged out at home trying to score on a Tim Retamoza fly ball.</p><p>It was actually the second bang-bang play at home in two at-bats. The first led to Trinity's only run of the game. The play, a bases-loaded grounder to third by Tim Sada, resulted in a violent collision at the plate. Josh Gourley was upended by Pace catcher Anthony De La Cruz, but the ball sprung free and Gourley came back to tag home before De La Cruz could collect it.</p><p>Though Gourley crossed the plate, Trinity stranded 10 total runners for the game, sending Spartans starter Jonathan Hernandez into perilous waters over and over again but failing to get the big hit each time.</p><p>Lepore faced no such troubles in the early going. The junior righty simply overpowered Pace, setting down the first six batters in order and striking out six through four innings.</p><p>"He is something special and is going to be something even more special as he moves on," Bond said. "I'm glad we've got him coming back next year."</p><p>Pace finally reached Lepore in the third with two singles and a walk to load the bases for Austin Miro, who drew an RBI walk to tie the game at 1-1.</p><p>Pace (23-6) loaded the bases again in the fifth on a hit and two walks, but Lepore escaped unscathed, drawing a popout from No. 6 hitter Andrew McCoy.</p><p>When the Spartans finally broke through against Lepore, it was with unearned runs. With a runner on first base, Lepore picked up a Leroy Garcia bunt and, with a clear shot at the lead runner, fired the ball into center field.</p><p>With Lepore nearing 100 pitches, Bond summoned Atwell into the game after another sacrifice put both Spartan runners into scoring position. With two outs and the bases full, Palenzuela belted a three-run double to the wall in left center to open the floodgates in a game that looked like it might go deep into the night.</p><p>Reliever Luis Deville got the win for Pace after facing just one batter. He struck out Retamoza with two on and two out in the sixth, then the Spartans delivered the knockout punch in bottom of the frame.</p><p>Deville then set the Celtics down in order in the seventh.</p><p>Alex Merritt and Josh Gourley each had a pair of singles to pace Trinity, which fell to 0-3 all-time in state semifinal appearances.</p><p>Lepore allowed just one earned run and struck out eight in 5.2 innings.</p><p>'The thing that stings the most is just knowing what could've been," Lepore said. "What if you change one little thing? It's a different ball game. It's going to sting for a little while, but it'll get better. I've got one more year."</p><p>Monsignor Pace will face No. 1-ranked Pensacola Catholic for the Class 4A state title tonight at 7:30.</p>